The gunman who attempted to fatally shoot former President Donald Trump may have had a firearm with a collapsible stock, making it easier to carry and conceal his weapon, and investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation testified on Wednesday.
On July 6, Thomas Crooks, 20, investigated “how far Oswald was from Kennedy,” referring to the 1963 assassination of the president, FBI Director Christopher Wray said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.
A collapsible backup would explain why witnesses didn’t see Crooks walking around with a gun beforehand, and why the firearm didn’t show up until Crooks was already on the roof, Wray said.
New details reveal how Crooks was able to evade law enforcement.
The crooks fired at least eight shots and also flew a drone about 200 yards from the event’s main stage area in Butler, Pennsylvania, about two hours before the July 13 campaign rally began, Wray said.
Authorities found the drone in Crooks’ car, where they also found a drone controller and two remote-detonated explosive devices, Wray said.
Crooks had a transmitter on him, the director said, adding that apparently a remote detonation “wouldn’t have worked.”
According to him, 8 cartridges were found on the roof together with the body of the gunman.
Wray said Crooks bought a ladder that was about 5 feet. tall, Crooks was on, but the ladder was not found at the scene, the bloody receipt said. The FBI director said it was unclear how Crooks got onto the roof.
Lawmakers have demanded answers to key questions about the shooting that remain unanswered, particularly by former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned Tuesday. Apparently unable to fully cooperate with the House Oversight Committee the day before.
“We need to know play-by-play, moment-by-moment, second-by-second,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Wray at the start of a Wednesday morning hearing.
Congressional committee hearings this week began to reveal more.
Tuesday, Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Paris told the House Homeland Security Committee Butler County Emergency Services personnel spotted Crooks from a second-story window and left their post to search for him.
Paris said Crooks was identified as a suspect before the shooting because he walked around but never attempted to enter the rally. That suspicion grew when Crooks showed up with a range finder, Paris said.
According to the state police commissioner, three more people were identified as suspects that day.
Paris said Crooks was not determined to be a real threat until after he opened fire. The fire hit Trump’s ear, killed one rally participant and injured another.